I simply don’t agree, though obviously this isn’t an objective question. Just like you like certain people or you don’t, you buy the story or you don’t. I buy it, and I enjoy it immensely because of that.
Again, I think the whys of each of these characters, aside from Hurley, have been spelled out pretty well, if not entirely. And then there is also this sense of destiny that permeates the show that characters have bought into or not to varying degrees.
Jack has been tortured by visions of his father and the sense that Locke is right: that he’s missed something big in his life and that the Island won’t let him escape exploring these things if his life is going to have any meaning. His life on the mainland went to crap, and he has nothing left to hold onto. He’s currently still mostly just waiting to see what that is.
Kate has been tortured by the idea that Aaron is not really hers, and now pressured in this regard by Ben. She feels like she owes Claire for having taken her baby. And she still has a lingering attachment to both Jack and Sawyer. Again, without Aaron, she feels like she has nothing left.
Hurley… who knows yet?
Sayid was taken by force, and Sun wants to find Jin.
The only time Lost started to feel lost to me was during the first part of season 3, the 6 or so episodes that aired that fall. They were very slow moving, and didn’t really get back into the groove of things. It was a really bad choice to break the season at that point and make us wait months for things to finally start moving again.
Season 4 and 5 (so far) have been great, and while not everything is answered, they have answered a lot of things, enough to be satisfactory (for now) but not so much that there’s not more to wonder about for the remainder of this season and next.
Heh Lost started lost. Ben Linus was supposed to be a minor character but the fans loved him so much he became the foil of the show. That show was born Lost.
The most satisfying moment for me this season was when Sawyer asked Jack if he felt better that Sawyer had it under control, and Jack looking visibly relieved, “Yeah.”
I think we always wanted Jack to step back and Sawyer to step forward.
I was just actually thinking earlier today that this season has been quite excellent. Whereas previous seasons have had a few slower paced episodes leading to two or three big mytharc episodes, this season has been the opposite - big mytharc episodes all season with two or three slower paced episodes sprinkled in. We’re getting a lot of answers to the mysteries, we even travelled back in time to the cool major stuff like Danielle and DHARMA! I think the only time Lost faltered was when it wasn’t sure how long it was going to be on the air and things turned around when they made the deal for a definitive end to the series.
The weakest parts of the show have really been the flashbacks in Season 3 and some of season 2 which were really sort of unnecessary. Kate’s marriage to a police officer, Jack’s tattoos, Jack dealing with the old man who wanted a miracle, Locke’s experience with the pot ranch, Sayid meeting with someone he tortured, etc. Some of the Sun and Jin stuff with the affair. A lot of those flashbacks basically reinforced things we already knew about the characters and thus slowed down the on-Island events, which were still pretty engaging on their own. The whole Ben/sick storyline could have been shrunk down as well. And Nikki and Paulo were always a bad idea.
The most implausible part of the show for me have always been the ones dealing with “tracking.” It seems like tracks are magical and obvious and that it’s possible to follow someone’s tracks so well that you can easily catch up to someone who has more than an hour head start. That’s just GOOFY.
You nailed it. The show is a train-wreck. I too only still watch it (and I use the term “watch” very loosely) because of how much time I’ve invested, and to see if there’s truly any pay-off.
I admit, the show totally hooked me its first season, when the mysteries were still mysterious, and I actually was curious about them. But after being strung along for 4+ seasons now, and provided with ho-hum explanations–and new mysteries–I just don’t care anymore. The show has slowly been getting more and more ridiculous and makes it harder to take the show, or its characters, seriously. The characters ARE just plot devices, never acting rationally, or hell, even consistently.
OIf I had to choose a spot when my faith in the series started to wane, it was after they blew open the hatch and discovered–GASP–some dude typing away on a keyboard. Lame as fucking hell. I should have quit then.
As someone mentioned up-thread, how does that explain Ben, who the creators conceded was only supposed to be in a few episodes, has become a mainstay (and a pretty damn prominent character) on the show?
I don’t actually expect you to answer that, because obviously neither of us are privy to what actually goes on behind the scenes. But in my perception, it seems evident they’re making a lot of this shit up as you go. Oh, and didn’t Charlie actually say he couldn’t swim at some point, but then was seen diving underwater a season later? Hmmm.
As you may recall, the actor playing Ben was originally introduced as a minor character “Henry Gale”; as I understand it, the writers explain that they always intended to have Ben play a prominent part in the story, but just hadn’t originally intended to have “Henry Gale” turn out to be the same character as Ben.
I applaud you, someone who doesn’t watch the show, for not only reading this thread, but responding with something other than, “This show sucks.”
Regarding the original question, I don’t think he ever did learn to swim. When he went to the “Looking Glass,” IIRC, he jumped into the water with extreme apprehension, but he willed himself to do it anyway. Also (again, IIRC) there was a point in the show where someone was drowning and Jack jumped into the water because Charlie was unsuccessful in being able to reach the person.
Straw man? Someone asked about the quality of the show. Most of the responses here are positive. The negative ones are fleshed out with reasoning. What are you getting at?
At least in my experience, people who don’t watch the show tend to believe it sucks. That’s all.
And, on edit, I’ll add that those sentiments are usually exacerbated on the internet, especially on a show that’s as polarizing as Lost. My only point was that I was I was surprised that someone who doesn’t watch the show not only read the thread, but asked a provocative question. I’m sorry if this was against your rules.
I started watching Lost about a month ago. A friend gave me the 1st 2 seasons on DVD. WHAT A GREAT SHOW!!
I was reading this thread when I noticed there are unboxed spoilers. Locke’s dad is on the Island? Jack and Sawyer reverse roles? I didn’t need to know that…:mad:
Anyhoo. I am almost done with season 2. I am watching an episode then listening to the accompanying Jay and Jack podcast. They talk about the episode and their observations and theories. Then they have callers who chime in as well. There are a lot of observations you can easily miss.
Anyway - I have to leave this thread before I discover that in Season 4 a time vortex is opened by Hurley and Kate making passionate love…or something.
You should quit watching then. As I said earlier, people who don’t enjoy the “ride” of the show and are just waiting for some pay-off are going to be sorely disappointed. Don’t waste your time.
Perhaps you should alert a moderator to put “Open Spoilers” in the thread title and not read any farther. These are events that have taken place in aired episodes, some of them years ago.
This is a huge spoiler that I read on a completely unrelated site. The text within my spoiler is relatively innocuous, but the link I provide there will lead to some speculation as to the internal mysteries of the Island:
This is an interview with a physicist who is often consulted to assist movie and television writers with scientific accuracy. He makes reference to “Lost”, and off-handedly mentions a theory. I can’t tell from the article whether that theory is the writers’ own plot line, or whether he is instead commenting on a theory put forth by the magazine in which he is writing. Follow the link at your own risk. Right now I’m wishing I hadn’t.
Yeah, Charlie said he couldn’t swim when he was still on drugs and Joanna was drownings. I figured he was just lying so he wouldn’t have to go in and save her.
